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| Map of meningitis belt and regions of high risk of epidemics. Image from Wikipedia.org |
February 25, 2010: Health officials in sub-Saharan Africa's "meningitis belt" are alarmed by the early arrival of the disease this year. Meningitis usually strikes people in this broad swath of Africa closer to April, during the dry season. The "meningitis belt" extends from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east.
In high-risk countries, almost 2,300 cases were already reported as of early February, according to IRIN, a news service of the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Of those cases, 13 percent were fatal. Infections are also being reported in countries further south than usual including Kenya, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Bacterial meningitis, more serious than viral meningitis, can kill if not treated early. It can also cause brain damage, hearing loss, and learning disabilities. So far this year, the highest number of cases has been reported in Burkina Faso. The highest rate of meningitis deaths, almost 25 percent, is occurring in Togo. A vaccine that prevents meningitis is effective but not always available to all who need it.
SOS Children's Villages Saves Children from Disease and its Consequences
Meningitis is one of many scourges -- like HIV/AIDS, malaria, typhus, and cholera -- that have an especially dire effect on Africa's children. Everyday young boys and girls across the continent find themselves orphaned or abandoned due to disease. For forty years, SOS Children's Villages has been in Africa raising children who cannot receive care from their own families because of disease, war, or natural disaster.
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| An SOS mother and child at SOS Children's Villages - Gulu in Uganda |
SOS Children's Villages builds family-based homes and communities that surround each child with love, warmth, and the support every child needs to become a healthy adult. SOS operates schools and clinics. Its medical facilities ensure vaccinations for SOS children whenever possible. SOS also provides disease-prevention counseling to nearby families as part of its family strengthening programs.
Why has meningitis spread across Africa so early this year? Mamoudou Harouna Djingarey, a World Health Organization meningitis expert, says the reasons are unclear. The early timing, however, signals to him "a major epidemic risk if no action is taken" to provide vaccines to families and children.
Help SOS Give Hope to a Child Orphaned by Disease
SOS is caring for needy children in 44 African countries, including every nation along the continent's meningitis belt. For a small amount of money, you can transform a vulnerable life by sponsoring an SOS child.
